Similar

Folks in the Delta have a strong sense of community, and being dead is no impediment to belonging to it. Down South, they don't forget you when you've up and died--in fact, they visit you more often. But there are quintessential rules and rituals for kicking the bucket tastefully. Having a flawless funeral is one of them.

In this deliciously entertaining slice of Southern life (and death), inveterate hostess Gayden Metcalfe explains everything you need to know to host an authentic Southern funeral. Can you be properly buried without tomato aspic? Who prepares tastier funeral fare, the Episcopal ladies or the Methodist ladies? And what does one do when a family gets three sheets to the wind and eats the entire feast the night before a funeral?

Each chapter includes a delicious, tried-and-true Southern recipe, critical if you plan to die tastefully any time soon. Pickled Shrimp, Aunt Hebe's Coconut Cake, and the ubiquitous Bing Cherry Salad with Coca-Cola are among the many dishes guaranteed to make the next funeral the most satisfying one yet.

Even if you've never been south of Rochester, this book will charm, it will entertain, and it will give you all the ingredients required for the perfect Southern send-off.

Even if you've never attended a wedding in the South, you'll find laughter in the pages of this deliciously entertaining slice of Southern life and love, complete with recipes, advice, and a huge dose of that famous charm

"In the Mississippi Delta, funerals bring out the best in people, while weddings, which are supposed to be happy occasions, bring out the worst." So say Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays, authors of the bestseller Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies' Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral, who turn their keen eyes and sharp wit from the end of the life cycle to the all-important midpoint. For anyone planning, participating in, or attending a wedding (Southern or not), this book will amuse, entertain, and provide advice for marital bliss, including:

It's OK to peek at an etiquette book, but if you rely too heavily on it, people will think that you are not fully acquainted with what is right and wrong. Anything that was not done in the past doesn't need to be done now--consider this before ordering a groom's cake, especially one featuring a fishing-tackle or golfing theme.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Book club pick for Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf • A moving memoir about the legendary author’s relationship with her mother

The story of Maya Angelou’s extraordinary life has been chronicled in her multiple bestselling autobiographies. But now, at last, the legendary author shares the deepest personal story of her life: her relationship with her mother.

For the first time, Angelou reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence—a presence absent during much of Angelou’s early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old Maya and her older brother away from their California home to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. The subsequent feelings of abandonment stayed with Angelou for years, but their reunion, a decade later, began a story that has never before been told. In Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou dramatizes her years reconciling with the mother she preferred to simply call “Lady,” revealing the profound moments that shifted the balance of love and respect between them.

Delving into one of her life’s most rich, rewarding, and fraught relationships, Mom & Me & Mom explores the healing and love that evolved between the two women over the course of their lives, the love that fostered Maya Angelou’s rise from immeasurable depths to reach impossible heights.

Praise for Mom & Me & Mom

“Mom & Me & Mom is delivered with Angelou’s trademark good humor and fierce optimism. If any resentments linger between these lines, if lives are partially revealed without all the bitter details exposed, well, that is part of Angelou’s forgiving design. As an account of reconciliation, this little book is just revealing enough, and pretty irresistible.”—The Washington Post

“Mesmerizing . . . Angelou has a way with words that can still dazzle us, and with her mother as a subject, Angelou has a near-perfect muse and mystery woman.”—Essence

“True to her style, [Angelou’s] writing cuts to the chase with compression and simplicity, and there in the background is a calypso smoothness, flurries and showers of musicality between the moments of wickedness. . . . A tightly strung, finely tuned memoir about life with her mother.”—Kirkus Reviews

“In this loving recollection of a complicated relationship, Angelou for the first time details the mother-daughter journey to reconciliation and unwavering connection and support. . . . Angelou vividly portrays a spirited woman. . . . [A] remarkable and deeply revealing chronicle of love and healing.”—Booklist

“Written with her customary eloquence . . . follows in the episodic style of Angelou’s earlier volumes of autobiography, pulling the reader along effortlessly. The lessons and the love presented here will speak to those trying to make their way in the world.”—Publishers Weekly

Go on an unforgettable journey, with a woman who has unimaginable strength.

Stephanie Nielson began sharing her life in 2005 on nieniedialogues.com, drawing readers in with her warmth and candor. She quickly attracted a loyal following that was captivated by the upbeat mother happily raising her young children, madly in love with her husband, Christian (Mr. Nielson to her readers), and filled with gratitude for her blessed life.

However, everything changed in an instant on a sunny day in August 2008, when Stephanie and Christian were in a horrific plane crash. Christian was burned over 40 percent of his body, and Stephanie was on the brink of death, with burns over 80 percent of her body. She would remain in a coma for four months.

In the aftermath of this harrowing tragedy, Stephanie maintained a stunning sense of humor, optimism, and resilience. She has since shared this strength of spirit with others through her blog, in magazine features, and on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Now, in this moving memoir, Stephanie tells the full, extraordinary story of her unlikely recovery and the incredible love behind it--from a riveting account of the crash to all that followed in its wake. With vivid detail, Stephanie recounts her emotional and physical journey, from her first painful days after awakening from the coma to the first time she saw her face in the mirror, the first kiss she shared with Christian after the accident, and the first time she talked to her children after their long separation. She also reflects back on life before the accident, to her happy childhood as one of nine siblings, her close-knit community and strong Mormon faith, and her fairy-tale love story, all of which became her foundation of strength as she rebuilt her life.

What emerges from the wreckage of a tragic accident is a unique perspective on joy, beauty, and overcoming adversity that is as gripping as it is inspirational. Heaven Is Here is a poignant reminder of how faith and family, love and community can bolster us, sustain us, and quite literally, in some cases, save us.

The Great Michigan Read 2013-14 Michigan Notable Book for 2010 A Washington Post Book World's "Best Books of 2009," Memoir Beth Luxenberg was an only child. Or so everyone thought. Six months after Beth's death, her secret emerged. It had a name: Annie. Steve Luxenberg's mother always told people she was an only child. It was a fact that he'd grown up with, along with the information that some of his relatives were Holocaust survivors. However, when his mother was dying, she casually mentioned that she had had a sister she'd barely known, who early in life had been put into a mental institution. Luxenberg began his researches after his mother's death, discovering the startling fact that his mother had grown up in the same house with this sister, Annie, until her parents sent Annie away to the local psychiatric hospital at the age of 23.

Annie would spend the rest of her life shut away in a mental institution, while the family erased any hints that she had ever existed. Through interviews and investigative journalism, Luxenberg teases out her story from the web of shame and half-truths that had hidden it. He also explores the social history of institutions such as Eloise in Detroit, where Annie lived, and the fact that in this era (the 40s and 50s), locking up a troubled relative who suffered from depression or other treatable problems was much more common than anyone realizes today.

For Kelly Corrigan, family is everything. At thirty-six, she had a marriage that worked, two funny, active kids, and a weekly newspaper column. But even as a thriving adult, Kelly still saw herself as the daughter of garrulous Irish-American charmer George Corrigan. She was living deep within what she calls the Middle Place--"that sliver of time when parenthood and childhood overlap"--comfortably wedged between her adult duties and her parents' care. But Kelly is abruptly shoved into coming-of-age when she finds a lump in her breast--and gets the diagnosis no one wants to hear. When George, too, learns that he has late-stage cancer, it is Kelly's turn to take care of the man who had always taken care of her--and to show us a woman who finally takes the leap and grows up. Kelly Corrigan is a natural-born storyteller, a gift you quickly recognize as her father's legacy, and her stories are rich with everyday details. She captures the beat of an ordinary life and the tender, sometimes fractious moments that bind families together. Rueful and honest, Kelly is the prized friend who will tell you her darkest, lowest, screwiest thoughts, and then later dance on the coffee table at your party. Funny yet heart-wrenching, The Middle Place is about being a parent and a child at the same time. It is about the special double-vision you get when you are standing with one foot in each place. It is about the family you make and the family you came from--and locating, navigating, and finally celebrating the place where they meet. It is about reaching for life with both hands--and finding it.

When frustrated with an unresponsive child, a parent doesn’t declare, “You don’t love me.” Instead the parent asserts, “You are being disrespectful right now.” A parent needs to feel respected, especially during conflicts. When upset a child does not whine, “You don’t respect me.” Instead, a child pouts, “You don’t love me.” A child needs to feel loved, especially during disputes.

But here’s the rub: An unloved child (or teen) negatively reacts in a way that feels disrespectful to a parent. A disrespected parent negatively reacts in a way that feels unloving to the child. This dynamic gives birth to the FAMILY CRAZY CYCLE.

So how is one to break out of this cycle? Best-selling author Emerson Eggerichs has studied the family dynamic for more than 30 years, having his Ph.D. in Child and Family Ecology. As a senior pastor for nearly two decades, Eggerichs builds on a foundation of strong biblical principles, walking the reader through an entirely new way to approach the family dynamic. For instance, God reveals ways to defuse the craziness with our children from preschooler to teen, plus how to motivate them to obey and how to deal with them when they don’t. In the Bible, God has spoken specifically to parents on how to parent. This book is about that revelation.

If you grew up with an emotionally immature, unavailable, or selfish parent, you may have lingering feelings of anger, loneliness, betrayal, or abandonment. You may recall your childhood as a time when your emotional needs were not met, when your feelings were dismissed, or when you took on adult levels of responsibility in an effort to compensate for your parent’s behavior. These wounds can be healed, and you can move forward in your life.

In this breakthrough book, clinical psychologist Lindsay Gibson exposes the destructive nature of parents who are emotionally immature or unavailable. You will see how these parents create a sense of neglect, and discover ways to heal from the pain and confusion caused by your childhood. By freeing yourself from your parents’ emotional immaturity, you can recover your true nature, control how you react to them, and avoid disappointment. Finally, you’ll learn how to create positive, new relationships so you can build a better life.

How do today's parents cope when the dreams we had for our children clash with reality? What can we do for our twenty- and even thirty-somethings who can't seem to grow up? How can we help our depressed, dependent, or addicted adult children, the ones who can't get their lives started, who are just marking time or even doing it? What's the right strategy when our smart, capable "adultolescents" won't leave home or come boomeranging back? Who can we turn to when the kids aren't all right and we, their parents, are frightened, frustrated, resentful, embarrassed, and especially, disappointed?

In this groundbreaking book, a social psychologist who's been chronicling the lives of American families for over two decades confronts our deepest concerns, including our silence and self-imposed sense of isolation, when our grown kids have failed to thrive. She listens to a generation that "did everything right" and expected its children to grow into happy, healthy, successful adults. But they haven't, at least, not yet -- and meanwhile, we're letting their problems threaten our health, marriages, security, freedom, careers or retirement, and other family relationships.

With warmth, empathy, and perspective, Dr. Adams offers a positive, life-affirming message to parents who are still trying to "fix" their adult children -- Stop! She shows us how to separate from their problems without separating from them, and how to be a positive force in their lives while getting on with our own. As we navigate this critical passage in our second adulthood and their first, the bestselling author of I'm Still Your Mother reminds us that the pleasures and possibilities of postparenthood should not depend on how our kids turn out, but on how we do!

Do you sometimes feel as if you are living your life to please others? Do you give other people the benefit of the doubt but second-guess yourself? Do you struggle with perfectionism, anxiety, lack of confidence, emotional emptiness, or eating disorders? In your intimate relationships, have you found it difficult to get close without losing your sense of self?

If so, you may be among the fifteen million adults in the United States who were raised with unhealthy parental control. In this groundbreaking bestseller by accomplished family therapist Dan Neuharth, Ph.D., you'll discover whether your parents controlled eating, appearance, speech, decisions, feelings, social life, and other aspects of your childhood—and whether that control may underlie problems you still struggle with in adulthood. Packed with inspiring case studies and dozens of practical suggestions, this book shows you how to leave home emotionally so you can improve assertiveness, boundaries, and confidence, quiet you "inner critics," and bring more balance to your moods and relationships. Offering compassion, not blame, Dr. Neuharth helps you make peace with your past and avoid overcontrolling your children and other loved ones.

Some children may resist the many changes they face, while parents may become frustrated or disappointed when the new family doesn’t function like their previous family functioned.

This book teaches you to deal with basic issues such as privacy for individual family members, who should handle the discipline, giving your stepchildren space, not to expect respect, but to earn respect. How to deal with hot and cold behavior from your step kids.

Contrary to myth, step families have a high rate of success in raising healthy children. 80% of the kids grow up and turn out to be fine.

Do not beat yourself up about being a bad step parent, learn how to deal with the situation.

My Beautiful Daughter is an inspirational true story about a daughters fight against drug addiction through the eyes of her mother. Louise goes from a happy contented child, to a self destructive drug addict. The impact that it would have on her family especially her parents is key to it all. The story starts where the mother is looking back over the years to when it began, and how she coped with trying to help her daughter, but at the same time having to come to terms with the fact that she may lose her. It covers the constant battle over the lack of help and advice for parents from the professionals. Whilst dealing with her grief on a daily basis, she struggles to understand why this is happening. Then she has to come to terms with the revelation that a terrible event caused her beautiful daughter to take heroin in the first place, leaving the whole family distraught. Finally as her daughter battles to stay clean, a serious life threatening health problem is diagnosed which is one of the consequences of her years of drug abuse. Every time her mother thinks that its nearly over, another challenge emerges and another fight begins. This is a very emotionally charged account of pure desperation from her parents, determined to get back the daughter they feel is lost to them, never giving up hope and at times barely keeping sane, and while their daughter fights her addiction they have to face up to the trauma that led to her drug abuse.

We raise our children to be independent and lead fulfilling lives, but when they finally do, staying close becomes more complicated than ever. And for every bewildered mother who wonders why her children don’t call, there is a frustrated son or daughter who just wants to be treated like a grownup. Now, renowned editor Jane Isay delivers the perfect gift to both parents and their adult children—real-life wisdom and advice on how to stay together without falling apart.

Using extensive interviews with people from ages twenty-five to seventy, Isay shows that we’re far from alone in our struggles to make this new, adult relationship work. She offers up groundbreaking insights and deeply moving stories that will inspire those in even the toughest situations. Isay’s warmth and wit shine through on every page as she charts an invaluable course through the confusing, and often painful, interactions parents and children can face. Walking on Eggshells is the much-needed road map that will keep you connected to the people you love most.

In How to Say It to Seniors, geriatric psychology expert David Solie offers help in removing the typical communication blocks many experience with the elderly. By sharing his insights into the later stages of life, Solie helps in understanding the unique perspective of seniors, and provides the tools to relate to them.

The New York Times bestselling memoir from legendary comedienne Carol Burnett is a “loving, poignant” (People) tribute to her eldest daughter, Carrie Hamilton.

The daughter of one of television’s most recognizable and beloved stars, Carol Burnett, Carrie Hamilton won the hearts of everyone she met with her kindness, her quirky humor, and her unconventional approach to life. After overcoming her painful and public teenage struggle with drug addiction in a time when personal troubles were kept private, Carrie lived her adult life of sobriety to the fullest, achieving happiness and success as an actress, writer, musician, and director before losing a hard-fought battle with cancer at age thirty-eight. Now Carol Burnett shares her personal diary entries, photographs, and correspondence as she traces the journey she and Carrie took through some of life’s toughest challenges and sweetest miracles. Authentic, intimate, and full of love, Carrie and Me is a funny and moving memoir about mothering an extraordinary young woman through the struggles and triumphs of her life.

By the age of twenty, Joey has OD'd, attempted suicide, quit college, survived a near-fatal car accident, done time behind bars, and been kicked out of rehab. Now manipulative and hateful, the once sweet and charming Joey is long gone.

This is the poignant story of a defiant addict and the mother who won't give up on him. She finally realizes that it hurts more to hang on than to let go, and that letting go is not the same thing as giving up.

Sandra Swenson beautifully orchestrates a mother's lessons of love and loss, while surviving her son's addiction. Despairing parents of addicts will find comfort in this stark, yet hopeful tale.

Sandra Swenson is the mother of two sons. As a member of the Junior Women's Club of Chevy Chase, Sandy created the Bistro Boyz, a program for young men from the National Center for Children and Families' Greentree Adolescent Program. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Marital and parental responsibilities can be enough of a challenge for two working adults. Add in one spouse who has intensifying bouts of amnesia and you have a recipe for disaster. But disaster is not an option for Annora. She grew up in an orphanage and so the preservation of her precious family was her number one commitment. But that commitment was threatened when, during marital counseling, Annora’s therapist began to recognize even more unusual and abnormal behaviors in her.

Annora was subsequently diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, also known as Multiple Personality Disorder. But that wouldn’t stop Annora from declaring her sanity to her husband and begging him to fi nd them a new therapist.

We Are Annora is a story about the human will to survive amidst the darkness which lies deep within despondency and a powerful mental disorder.

Marrow’s choice of first-person narrative successfully pulls the reader into this page-turning true story which so richly demonstrates the human will to survive amidst a crippling disorder that is still so misunderstood. Throughout the pages of this book, struggles of fear and hope, love and hate, confusion and utter clarity give the reader an “insider” perspective of the challenges faced by traumatized people with DID. Hence, the reader acquires a better understanding of the difficulties suffered by multiples and the potential for true healing.

This new collection holds the best 101 stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul's library on the special bond between mothers and daughters, and the magical, mysterious similarities between them.

How often have you seen a teenage girl pretend to be perturbed, but secretly smile, when she is told that she acts or looks just like her mother? Fathers, brothers, and friends shake their head in wonder as girls “turn into their mothers.” This book contains the 101 best stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul’s library that celebrate the mother-daughter bond. Mothers and daughters of all ages will laugh, cry, and find inspiration in these stories that remind them how much they appreciate each other.

"Informative. Complete. And practical. This book will guide family caregivers through the surprisingly complex world of senior care." —MEHMET OZ, M.D., New York Times bestselling coauthor of YOU: The Owner's Manual: The Complete All-in-One Care Guide

Choosing the best care for your aging parents and other seniors in your life is not only complex, with multiple options available, it's also highly personal and often emotional. This essential resource—written by the founders of Home Instead Senior Care, the world's largest provider of nonmedical care for seniors—guides you through a comprehensive range of things to consider, step by step, so you can make better informed decisions and be confident that the senior in your life is receiving the best care possible. Checklists and diagnostics will help you:

Decide if at-home care is the right choice for you and your loved ones Evaluate the pros and cons of retirement communities, adult care centers, nonmedical caregivers, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and hospice Determine the costs of senior care options and find helpful support networks

"This is not just another book about caring for aging parents. It's a great reference you'll use again and again. Stages doesn't shy away from the hard questions. Rather, it shows you how to confront them."—SUZANNE MINTZ, President/CEO, National Family Caregivers Association

"Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, this salient volume compassionately addresses a full range of hard-to-discuss subjects."--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

All of the authors' profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation.

Paul and Lori Hogan founded Home Instead Senior Care in 1994. Now with 850 offices in 15 countries, Home Instead is recognized as a global leader and authority on senior care. Visit them at www.stagesofseniorcare.com.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dads & Daughters celebrates the special bond between fathers and daughters. Daughters and wives will find this book a wonderful way to express their appreciation to their fathers and husbands.

The day a girl is born, she starts a special relationship with her father. It doesn’t matter her age -- she will always be his little girl. This wide-ranging exploration of the relationship between fathers and daughters will warm the hearts of daughters, fathers, and grandfathers, with our 101 favorite stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul’s library, celebrating the special bond between fathers and daughters as they move through all of life’s different phases.

“Finally, a book that explores what it truly means to be polyamorous by exploring the wonderful variety of poly relationships. Only through understanding poly’s innate diversity can one grasp what open relationships can off er. Th ank you, Mim, for a book that is relevant and useful, as polyamory moves out of the shadows and into the mainstream of society. It is an important resource for anyone who wishes to understand the growing poly movement as it changes our society and challenges our presumptions about relationships. Bravo!”

Robyn Trask, Executive Director of Loving More Non-Profit and Magazine

What is your relationship dream, and what options are out there to choose from? We’re familiar with monogamy, but what additional models of loving and living are offered by polyamory, and what do they look like in action? How is polyamory different from polygamy, swinging, or “cheating”? What new forms of etiquette are needed in order to nurture polys’ varied forms of family? Is it really possible to have a relationship in which love does not equal possessiveness?

“Any relationship, from monogamous marriage to business enterprise to polyamorous family, will benefit from the practical relationship advice found within the covers of this well-written little book.”

Matthew C. Cox, Life Coach and Author of Living the Southwest Lifestyle

“Just the right balance between information, candor, and lightheartedness.”

Dr. Fred Hillman, GLBT activist and retired Family Therapist

“Don’t let the size of this little book fool you. What Does Polyamory Look Like? is chock full of information about how to build honest, loving, and lasting relationships. Therapists and educators, take note! Dr. Chapman dispels the myths of polyamory and teaches us all about how to create and sustain the relationships of which we’ve dreamed.”

Instagram. Whisper. YouTube. Kik. Ask.fm. Tinder. The dominant force in the lives of girls coming of age in America today is social media. What it is doing to an entire generation of young women is the subject of award-winning Vanity Fair writer Nancy Jo Sales’s riveting and explosive American Girls.

With extraordinary intimacy and precision, Sales captures what it feels like to be a girl in America today. From Montclair to Manhattan and Los Angeles, from Florida and Arizona to Texas and Kentucky, Sales crisscrossed the country, speaking to more than two hundred girls, ages thirteen to nineteen, and documenting a massive change in the way girls are growing up, a phenomenon that transcends race, geography, and household income. American Girls provides a disturbing portrait of the end of childhood as we know it and of the inexorable and ubiquitous experience of a new kind of adolescence—one dominated by new social and sexual norms, where a girl’s first crushes and experiences of longing and romance occur in an accelerated electronic environment; where issues of identity and self-esteem are magnified and transformed by social platforms that provide instantaneous judgment. What does it mean to be a girl in America in 2016? It means coming of age online in a hypersexualized culture that has normalized extreme behavior, from pornography to the casual exchange of nude photographs; a culture rife with a virulent new strain of sexism and a sometimes self-undermining notion of feminist empowerment; a culture in which teenagers are spending so much time on technology and social media that they are not developing basic communication skills. From beauty gurus to slut-shaming to a disconcerting trend of exhibitionism, Nancy Jo Sales provides a shocking window into the troubling world of today’s teenage girls.

Provocative and urgent, American Girls is destined to ignite a much-needed conversation about how we can help our daughters and sons negotiate unprecedented new challenges.

If you are looking for a way to reconnect with your children, students, team, spouse, or elderly parent, this book is for you.

"Breakthrough Therapy Techniques for Individuals, Groups, Kids, and Adults" is a collection of therapeutic activities for every day people, as well as professionals. Familiar toys and games are used and transformed into therapeutic interventions. Activities include ice-breakers and getting-to-know-you exercises, in addition to various activities meant to address issues such as grief and loss, anger, self-esteem, divorce, and much more.

Ms. Kuntz has written a comprehensive, well-organized guide on various treatment modalities for a wide-ranging patient clientele. She provides clear directions on the therapeutic techniques with numerous examples. The style is casual and very readable making it useful to both beginning therapists and experienced clinicians Howard Leftin, Adult Psychiatrist, M.D.

The book was great. Well explained and so worth it. Want to try some of the techniques on my children who are 9 and 10. Thanks for sharing. Robin Stephenson, Life Tree Adoption Agency

Mrs. Kuntz used these activities to solve some sibling problems in our family. My children were always eager to see her. She is creative, fun and an empathic counselor. I am so excited she has shared some of her activities with us. Marty Bask

A spaghetti dinner and a lot of giggling result in Caillou getting the hiccups.Daddy thinks he knows how to cure them, and together, they embark on a series of hiccup-curing trials. But none of them seem to work! Mommy insists the hiccups will go away on their own - as long as Caillou doesn’t make a big deal of them, and she’s right!

Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt discovered early in their friendship that they shared a disturbing trait: as children, they navigated dangerous inner-city life without a father’s guidance. In spite of this, they escaped delinquency and crime to form the Pact, dedicated to putting themselves on the road to success. Now, the Three Doctors make a new promise: to set aside their resentment, and rebuild the relationships with their fathers—men they barely recognize. Told in alternating voices between father and son, The Bond explores the hard lessons of growing up without a father and suggests ways to stem the tide of fatherlessness in communities across the country. Honest, brave, and poignant, The Bond is a book for every child and every family.

Blended Family Advice is step-by-step guide to help blended and stepfamilies navigate the rough areas in their marriage and family. The book focuses on three main areas: marriage, kids, and the outside world. Learn how to communicate with your ex-spouse successfully, create a sense of unity in your newly blended family, how to treat stepparents and stepsiblings, and how to create house rules and expectations in your new blended household. Shirley Cress Dudley uses her skills as a licensed professional counselor, and as a stepmom to help blended and step families learn how to become strong and successful. Blended Family Advice contains the keys to a successful blended family along with several bonus reports: a financial planner, creating successful blended family holidays, house hunting for the blended family, and a guide for grandparents. Blended families and stepfamilies will find this book to be a comprehensive resource and one that every stepfamily and blended family will need in their home. Visit The Blended and Step Family Resource Center http://www.TheBlendedandStepFamilyResourceCenter.com and http://www.BlendedFamilyAdvice.com for more information. Shirley Cress Dudley, MA LPC Shirley@BlendedFamilyAdvice.com

Can marriages be resurrected when they have gone from love to ruin? Is there a chance to save a hopeless union? Can a dead relationship come alive again? John Wagner says, "Yes!." He and his wife Susan went through a marriage crisis. The healing they received from Imago Relationship Therapy inspired a dream of helping couples Rebuilding Broken Bridges gives hope to struggling couples who want to find the way back. It also proposes biblical ideas on healthy marriages and joins them with the latest research in relationships. "No matter where you are in your relationship, "Rebuilding Broken Bridges" gives you proven strategies and time tested wisdom to create a brighter future. John Wagner is a true master. He understands what it takes to rebuild a marriage because he has done it and now he is making it available for the rest of the world to see." Dr. Dave Martin: America's #1 Christian Success Coach & author of The 12 Traits of the Greats A modern day marriage miracle! Inspiring and hopeful for all of us as a tribute to the power of God and clinical skills in healing marriages and people." Pat Love, Ed.D., co-author, How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It

Do you sometimes wonder how your teen is ever going to survive on his or her own as an adult? Does your high school junior seem oblivious to the challenges that lie ahead? Does your academically successful nineteen-year-old still expect you to “just take care of” even the most basic life tasks?

Welcome to the stunted world of the Endless Adolescence. Recent studies show that today’s teenagers are more anxious and stressed and less independent and motivated to grow up than ever before. Twenty-five is rapidly becoming the new fifteen for a generation suffering from a debilitating “failure to launch.” Now two preeminent clinical psychologists tell us why and chart a groundbreaking escape route for teens and parents.

Drawing on their extensive research and practice, Joseph Allen and Claudia Worrell Allen show that most teen problems are not hardwired into teens’ brains and hormones but grow instead out of a “Nurture Paradox” in which our efforts to support our teens by shielding them from the growth-spurring rigors and rewards of the adult world have backfired badly. With compelling examples and practical and profound suggestions, the authors outline a novel approach for producing dramatic leaps forward in teen maturity, including

• Turn Consumers into Contributors Help teens experience adult maturity–its bumps and its joys–through the right kind of employment or volunteer activity.• Feed Them with Feedback Let teens see and hear how the larger world perceives them. Shielding them from criticism–constructive or otherwise–will only leave them unequipped to deal with it when they get to the “real world.”• Provide Adult Connections Even though they’ll deny it, teens desperately need to interact with adults (including parents) on a more mature level–and such interaction will help them blossom!• Stretch the Teen Envelope Do fewer things for teens that they can do for themselves, and give them tasks just beyond their current level of competence and comfort.

Today’s teens are starved for the lost fundamentals they need to really grow: adult connections and the adult rewards of autonomy, competence, and mastery. Restoring these will help them unlearn their adolescent helplessness and grow into adults who can make you–and themselves–proud.

Let me start off by saying that this book is not intended for everyone. Some of you will find its contents to be very distasteful, degrading, or maybe a little disrespectful. I will also apologize in advance to anyone that may be displeased by my “so-called” colloquialisms-or slang, if you will, and to all of you I say, “Get over it!” You will come to discover at the end of this chapbook, that is far from my intent, which leads me to my second word of caution- if you cannot or will not commit to reading this book from cover to cover, don’t even waste your time, otherwise it won’t make any sense to you.

The purpose of SubMISSive is not to tear down, but to build up. I have the responsibility of delivering a message in its oratory shape through painstaking writing.

This book was written for anyone whose slept in their car and had to use their coat as a blanket. To any female who’s slept with a man she couldn’t stand, nevertheless felt a sense of peace because she had a safe place to fall asleep. My fellas wearin’ hoodies and spittin bops out to serve knocks with their bundles stuffed in their runner’s twots.

For anyone who constantly justifies the misuse and mistreatment of others, which causes them to fail time and time again or people who occupy their lives and thoughts with any and everything else besides themselves. And last but not least, those who seek pleasure in some one else’s pain.

SubMISSive was created to help, not hinder these problems. My goal is to encourage resilience and confidence and to make others aware of the only resource you would need in order to succeed. Hope you enjoy. Let’s begin.....

The inspirational account of a Japanese-American family's triumph in the face of the death of their three children, two from AIDS and a third the victim of a tragic drive-by shooting, Honor Thy Children chronicles the creation, devastation, and remarkable resurrection of the Nakatanis - who journey from unimaginable grief to healing.

Lisa and Francesca are back with another collection of warm and witty stories that will strike a chord with every woman. This six book series is among the best reviewed humor books published today and has been compared to the late greats, Erma Bombeck and Nora Ephron. Delia Ephron said of the fifth book in the series, Have a Nice Guilt Trip, "Lisa and Francesca, mother and daughter, bring you the laughter of their lives once again and better than ever. You will identify with these tales of guilt and fall in love with them and fierce (grand) Mother Mary." This seventh volume will not disappoint as it hits the humorous and poignant note that fans have come to expect from the beloved mother-daughter duo.

Being a parent is usually all about giving of yourself to foster your child's growth and development. But what happens when this isn't the case? Some parents dismiss the needs of their children, asserting their own instead, demanding attention and reassurance from even very young children. This may especially be the case when a parent has narcissistic tendencies or narcissistic personality disorder. From the author of Working with the Self-Absorbed and Loving the Self-Absorbed, this major revision of a self-help classic offers a step-by-step approach to resolving conflict and building a meaningful relationship with a narcissistic parent.

Children of the Self-Absorbed offers clear definitions of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder to help you identify the extent of your parent's problem. You'll learn the different types of destructive narcissism and how to recognize their effects on relationships. With the aid of proven techniques, you'll discover that you're not helpless against your parent's behavior and that you needn't consider giving up on the relationship. Instead, realistic strategies and steps are suggested for learning to set mutually agreed upon behaviors that can help you fulfill your needs and expectations.

“When you eat soup every night, thoughts of bread get you through.” Ghostbread makes real for us the shifting homes and unending hunger that shape the life of a girl growing up in poverty during the 1970s.

One of seven children brought up by a single mother, Sonja Livingston was raised in areas of western New York that remain relatively hidden from the rest of America. From an old farming town to an Indian reservation to a dead-end urban neighborhood, Livingston and her siblings follow their nonconformist mother from one ramshackle house to another on the perpetual search for something better.

Along the way, the young Sonja observes the harsh realities her family encounters, as well as small moments of transcendent beauty that somehow keep them going. While struggling to make sense of her world, Livingston perceives the stresses and patterns that keep children—girls in particular—trapped in the cycle of poverty.

Larger cultural experiences such as her love for Wonder Woman and Nancy Drew and her experiences with the Girl Scouts and Roman Catholicism inform this lyrical memoir. Livingston firmly eschews sentimentality, offering instead a meditation on what it means to hunger and showing that poverty can strengthen the spirit just as surely as it can grind it down.

All of us crash into self-constructed walls and bloody our noses from time to time. These walls block growth, healthy relationships and overall contentment and happiness. Most of us are blind to our own self-defeating behaviors and attitudes, so we repeatedly walk into the same walls again and again. Best-selling author Stephen Arterburn leads us through the process of deconstructing the issues that built those walls as well as find the permanent healing that frees us to live the joyful life we were meant to live.

The unstoppable, irreverent mother-daughter team presents a new collection of funny stories and true confessions that every woman can relate to. From identity theft to the hazards of bicycling to college reunions and eating on the beach, Lisa and Francesca tackle the quirks, absurdities, and wonders of everyday life with wit and warmth. As Lisa says, "More and more, especially in the summertime when I'm sitting on the beach, I'm learning not to sweat it. To go back to the child that I used to be. To see myself through the loving eyes of my parents. To eat on the beach. And not to worry about whether every little thing makes me look fat. In fact, not to worry at all."

So put aside your worries and join Lisa and Francesca as they navigate their way through the crazy world we live in, laughing along the way.

Trusted counselor H. Norman Wright and his daughter, Sheryl, reveal why the mother-daughter relationship doesn't have to control your life or your future. With godly wisdom and practical insights, this book shows readers how to start building a new relationship with their mothers--today.

Love and guilt are thick in the Scottoline/Serritella household, and Lisa and Francesca's mother-daughter-turned-best-friends bond will strike a familiar note to many. But now that Lisa is a suburban empty nester and Francesca is an independent twentysomething in the big city, they have to learn how to stay close while living apart. How does a mother's love translate across state lines and over any semblance of personal boundaries? You'll laugh out loud as they face off over the proper technique for packing dishes, the importance of bringing a coat in the summertime, and the dos and don'ts of dating at any age. Add feisty octogenarian Mother Mary to the mix, and you have a Molotov cocktail of estrogen, opinions, and fun.

These stories will make you laugh, cry, and call your mother, daughter, and all your girlfriends.

You are not alone if you are one of the staggering numbers of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren! Are you confused by the generational gaps, challenging communications, and tough questions like, “Why are my parents so old? Why is my father in jail? Why doesn’t my mother show up to visit when she promised?”

The Sacred Work of Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren is the first book that contains answers and stories to address these unique issues and challenges—from one grandparent to another. You’ll enjoy the practical suggestions on how grandchildren can manage and solve some of their own problems, while learning how to cope with your own distinctive life challenges.

As a parenting grandparent, a kinship caregiver, a teacher, or a social service worker, you must read this book for invaluable insight. No other book takes on the complex challenges that parenting grandparents face with such depth and truth. How relieved and grateful you’ll be for the inspiration, knowledge and wisdom by the time you reach the conclusion!

“Through the stories told by grandparents themselves, Elaine K. Williams reveals the challenges, commitment, and love experienced by grandparents raising their grandchildren. This book not only provides understanding and helpful information, but will also touch the hearts of all who read it.”

—Sandy P., a grandparent who raised a grandchild

“I’ve waited five years for this wonderful author, Elaine K. Williams, to complete her groundbreaking gathering of knowledge from three generations so that we can clearly see the patterns of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. The most important points are to help grandparents understand the dynamics of the emotional and behavioral challenges their grandchildren face, and the impactful trauma that all generations experience. She brings the keys of caring, connection, and communication forward to assist families to heal. Highly recommended.”

—Dr. Caron Goode, EdD, NCC, author of the award-winning book Raising Intuitive Children

A guide for helping our children lead meaningful and independent lives as they reach adulthood

In the next five years, hundreds of thousands of children with autism spectrum disorder will reach adulthood. And while diagnosis and treatment for children has improved in recent years, parents want to know: What happens to my child when I am no longer able to care for or assist him? Autism expert Chantal Sicile-Kira and her son Jeremy offer real solutions to a host of difficult questions, including how young adults of different abilities and their parents can:

Should you feed your baby whenever she wants or put her on a schedule? Do you impose consequences on children who don't do their homework or clean up their room, or do you help them with chores and homework? Should you respond to the difficult adolescent with tender love or tough love? Parents are faced every day with a multitude of decisions, and they worry about making the right choices. The Smart Love Parent offers a breakthrough method to parenting created and tested by the husband-and-wife team of Dr. Martha Heineman Pieper and Dr. William J. Pieper. The Piepers offer a new understanding of the entire sweep of child development, allowing you to view the process of growing up through your child's eyes. Their patient and caring approach avoids the extremes of permissiveness and of the old reward-and-punishment style of parenting that turns parents into disciplinarians. By offering a relaxed and realistic timetable for your child's development, they identify some previously unrecognized developmental milestones and show you how to help your child reach them through guiding, not punishing. If you understand your child's point of view, you can better know how to love her and how to respond to her actions. The Smart Love Parent helps parents cultivate a child's inner happiness, which is the best means of ensuring your child will grow up well behaved, responsible, self-confident, and able to reach his or her fullest potential. Book jacket.

With thousands of known suicides taking place in the United States each year, it is very possible you have already been touched. In Healing the Wound from My Daughter’s Suicide, author Lois Severson shares the true story of how her family was deeply affected by the tragedy of suicide.

She narrates the story of the suicide of her twenty-six-year-old daughter Patty in June of 2005. Severson recalls a personal journey through the grief process from the perspective of the mother, father, and sister of the victim. She also includes Patty’s suicide letter and selected diary entries and addresses the subject of mental illness and its role in suicides.

Raw and emotional, Healing the Wound from My Daughter’s Suicide provides keen insight into family dynamics following the suicide of a loved one. It shows how one family navigated the grief and healing process and found comfort through help from their community, from within the family, and through their faith in God.

Being a parent is usually all about giving of yourself to foster your child's growth and development. But what happens when this isn't the case? Some parents dismiss the needs of their children, asserting their own instead, demanding attention and reassurance from even very young children. This may especially be the case when a parent has narcissistic tendencies or narcissistic personality disorder. From the author of Working with the Self-Absorbed and Loving the Self-Absorbed, this major revision of a self-help classic offers a step-by-step approach to resolving conflict and building a meaningful relationship with a narcissistic parent.

Children of the Self-Absorbed offers clear definitions of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder to help you identify the extent of your parent's problem. You'll learn the different types of destructive narcissism and how to recognize their effects on relationships. With the aid of proven techniques, you'll discover that you're not helpless against your parent's behavior and that you needn't consider giving up on the relationship. Instead, realistic strategies and steps are suggested for learning to set mutually agreed upon behaviors that can help you fulfill your needs and expectations.

"The Caregiving Trap" combines the authentic life and professional experience of Pamela D. Wilson, who provides recommendations for overwhelmed and frustrated caregivers who themselves may one day need care. "The Caregiving Trap" includes stories about Pamela’s actual personal and professional experience along with end of chapter exercises to support caregivers.

Common caregiving issues include:

A sense of duty and obligation to provide care that damages family relationships

Emotional and financial challenges resulting in denial of care needs

Ignorance of predictive events that result in situations of crises or harm

Delayed decision making and lack of planning resulting in limited choices

In this book Dr. Robert Puff and Elizabeth Cappelletti LMFT will share with you the secrets to a happy and successful relationship, the steps it takes to find one, and what you need to now about maintaining such a relationship. Learn how your past effects your present and how important self-care is in any relationship. In our society we often have our priorities mixed up by placing our jobs above all else. Dr. Puff and Cappelletti discuss just how damaging this can be both to an individual and his/her relationship and family. You have the ability with-in you to have the life and love you've always wanted, now you can learn how to make that happen!

Dating, commitment, kids, and family--it's all hard work, and when you come from different religious backgrounds it's even harder. Jon, a Catholic writer, and Michal, a Reconstructionist rabbi, live out the challenges of an interfaith relationship everyday as husband and wife, and as parents to their daughter Sima, who is being raised Jewish. In MIXED-UP LOVE, the couple explores how interfaith relationships impact dating, weddings, holidays, raising children, and family functions--and how to not just cope, but thrive. This is an engaging and practical resource for singles who are considering dating outside their own faith, couples in interfaith relationships, relatives and friends of "mixed" couples who seek information and understanding, and parents desiring a fresh perspective. With clarity, insight, and humor, Sweeney and Woll demonstrate how to engage with your partner, family, and faith like never before.

Your parents are growing older and are getting forgetful, starting to slow down, or worse. Suddenly you find yourself at the cusp of one of the most important transitions in your life—and the life of your family. Your parents need you and your siblings to step up and take care of them, a little or a lot. To make the right things happen, you will all need to work together. And yet your siblings may have very different ideas from yours of what’s best for Mom and Dad. They may be completely uninterested in helping, leaving you with all the responsibility. Or they may take charge and not allow you to help, or criticize whatever help you do give. Will you and your siblings be able to reach an understanding and work together, or will the challenges you face tear you apart?

Most of us enter this period of our lives unprepared for the difficult decisions and delicate negotiations that lie ahead. This is the first book that provides guidance on the transition from the “old” family to the “new” one, especially for adult siblings. Here you’ll find practical advice on a wide range of topics including

• Who will make major medical decisions, manage finances, and enforce end-of-life choices if your parents cannot? And how will this be decided and carried out?• How will you negotiate caregiving issues and deal with unequal contributions or power struggles? • How can inheritance and the division of property, assets, and personal effects be handled to minimize hurt feelings and resentment?• How will you cope with the natural reemergence of unresolved childhood rivalries, hurts, and needs?• How can caring for your parents be an enriching experience rather than a thankless chore?• Most important, how can you ensure the best care for your parents while lessening conflict, guilt, anger, and angst?

Written by a veteran journalist who chronicles life and how baby boomers live it, They’re Your Parents, Too! offers all the information, insight, and advice you’ll need to make productive choices as you and your siblings begin to assume your parents’ place as the decision-making generation of your family.

Filled with expert guidance from gerontologists, family therapists, elder-care attorneys, financial planners, and health workers; resonant real-life stories; and helpful family negotiation techniques, this is an indispensable book for anyone whose parents are aging.

“Punctuating your purpose” is what T-Time - A Rites of Passage Manual for the Adolescent Female is about. This initiation guide book for women who desire to give young females a powerful spiritually charged, emotionally invigorating welcome into womanhood was born from a fusion of Native American and West African customs. This marriage has created a celebratory ritual, which puts rites of passage initiates and participants on a spiritual journey to illuminate their souls for a lifetime. Historical references used in T-Time (“transition time”) regarding various cultural rituals allow the reader-turned-facilitator to define the process young girls experience as they go from grade school to middle school -- from baptism to praise dance -- and from daddy’s little angel to a budding princess. This generally occurs with little fanfare and no outstanding life-altering ritual. T-Time will change that. In this book women are encouraged, through a series of cleansing rituals, aromatic meditations, vigorous prayer, laying on of hands, libation, charges and divination to boldly declare to their flowering girls, “You are now a woman!” The upward movement from “Girl” to “You-go-girl” to “Woman” should culminate in an intense but exhilarating T-Time ceremony not to be missed.

Are you ready to have balance and harmony in your life? "It's Your Choice! Decisions That Will Change Your Life" is a work of personal discovery. Marjorie Mckinnon shows you how to create a perfect world through positive growth in what she calls the six dimensions: mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, social, and financial. She illustrates how all six-dimensions work together like an orchestra. Told in simple, practical language, McKinnon encourages the readers to have faith in themselves, the kind of faith needed to make healthy changes. In this book, you will: Discover courage and harness it to your advantage Recover the joy present in every moments Learn decision-making tools that affirm your values Find new outlets for your ambitions and talents Rededicate yourself to your true purpose in life Explore what success in life really means Acclaim for "It's Your Choice!" ""It's Your Choice!" is bursting with the wisdom of the tried and true, akin to a good friend's advice. The author's style is intimate but never imposing. She shares rather than lectures. She asks: how does one find a meaning in one's life and thus enhance it? And she answers with ladles of tips and anecdotes, real life stories and popular philosophy." --Sam Vaknin, PhD, author of Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited. Learn more at www.TheLampLighters.org From the Spiritual Dimensions series at Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com

Son" I" got your back. Is about a father who in raising his kids try to instill in his family that in growing up they are going to face some challenges in life from, teenagers to adulthood. And when in doubt never let the thought of fear being embarrassed cloud there judgment as to what's right and what's wrong mixed up with what can save your life. Keahnard experience a situation most teens try to avoid in HIGH SCHOOL. keahnards father goes to great links and even endure embarrassment to make a point. And that, being when all has failed and friends have turn the other shoulder "SON I GOT YOUR BACK."

Dear Daddy, Do You Remember When You Love Me? chronicles the relationship between a father and daughter, which began as strong and as loving as a relationship ever could. As a little girl she always felt cherished and protected, knowing she was safe as long as he was there. She was his little princess. Life was full of love and laughter, fun filled days at the beach, and singing songs together in the car.

The relationship changed dramatically when, at thirteen, she made what he deemed an unforgivable mistake. Suddenly she was no longer daddy’s little princess, but rather someone he now simply seemed to tolerate, criticizing her and finding fault with everything she did. Feeling frightened and unprotected, she struggled with her new role in his life while self-doubt and insecurity overwhelmed every aspect of her life.

After trying to fight her way out of the abyss for ten exhausting years, she received help from an unexpected source. She gained tremendous strength from this source and learned to live a fuller and richer life. Until one day when bad news struck, and she was plunged back into the darkness once more.

She found herself taking care of her father amidst many mixed emotions such as love, compassion, anger, and resentment, but mostly love. Her love was unconditional.

All she ever wanted from him was to hear the words, “I’m proud of you”...

The Jumper is an old-fashioned, modern novel both dark and funny. Its central character, Jimmy Strawhorn, grows up on a ranch in West Texas thinking he’s an orphan but is summoned to Baton Rouge, where he discovers his past is stranger than he can imagine.

Jimmy tries to navigate his urge to jump from high places, his fear of falling in love, and a complex family history full of deceit and racial ambiguity. At the same time, two other eccentric main characters, named Sandra and J. T., deal with dangerous pasts and presents of their own as Jimmy’s arrival alters their lives.

Through realistic and trusted advice, this innovative new guide brings the celebration back to the holidays for blended families. Answering a myriad of questions unique to blended families, this comprehensive resource offers suggestions on how to determine who hosts milestone birthday parties, bar and bat mitzvahs, and Quinceaneras; coordinate who attends sporting events and concerts; and how to respectfully attend a former relative's funeral. A resource guide listing websites and books completes this new manners manual, which guides blended families from the first recitals and holidays apart to sporting events and graduations with fewer arguments and more respect.

A guide on managing an independent life for young women offers practical and anecdotal advice on living safely and competently, addressing everything from using a barbecue grill and changing flat tires to unclogging drains and managing credit. Original. 20,000 first printing.

When her children left for college, Melissa Shultz was certain that she had prepared them well for their new lives-but her own life was a different matter entirely. Her house was empty, her purpose unclear. If her life was no longer dominated by the day-to-day demands of being "Mom," then who exactly was she? And how would she ever move forward?

From Mom to Me Again is the story of one woman's reinvention. Shultz's struggle with the empty nest and the transformation of her marriage, friendships, career, and ultimately herself, is part memoir and part self-help guide. Funny, poignant, and practical, this book tells Shultz's personal story and provides valuable advice for readers preparing to send their children off into the world. She shows women that while they'll always be mothers, it's time for them to take center stage in their own lives once again.

When Lovey Batiste’s Mama brings her “home” to a small Louisiana town filled with people who hate them and a Grandmother she never knew she had, she begins to slowly unravel family secrets that she, her beloved Mama and her new Maw Maw can never escape, which makes her wonder if you ever really can come home again. Eleven year old Lovey Batiste comes face to face with a past she never knew she had. Even worse, she has no idea that she will be paying the price for the mistakes the women in her family have made. When her Mama realizes that they can no longer live on their own, Lovey is plucked from the only city she’s ever known into the lives of the people of small town Franklin City, Louisiana with only her mother to lean on and no father to fight her battles. In getting to know herself and a Maw Maw who seems to hate her she learns the secrets that her Mama has kept from her for her entire life. Her journey takes her down a dark road paved with violence, promiscuity and self-loathing. Can she come to terms with the burden her family name has put upon her or will she fall prey to the future the women in the Batiste family seem doomed to carry?

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

As a young child, Edie, raised by a single mother struggling with epilepsy, was placed in a girls’ group home. Sad, confused, scared, and not understanding why her mother left her at the Simpson Home to live with complete strangers, Edie begins her new life not knowing if she will ever see her family again. Through the life of Edie, her story will help you understand that even though our paths in life take unexpected twists and turns, which we may not have control of, God is not shocked or surprised by any of it because He has a plan for each of us.

As an adopted child, I soon realized my life was good. I didn't feel abandoned by the birth parents I never knew. I was just a few days old when my adoptive parents took me to my new home, a small town in Ohio. When I was quite young my adoptive mother told me that my biological mother was 13-years-old when I was born, one of the few facts she knew. Who were these people? Did I look like them? Do I have brothers and sisters? After I married and had children, I questioned what should my two children know about my side of their biological heritage. This is the story of my incredible search and the amazing answers I found to very old questions. Little did I know that due to fictitious information on my birth certificate, and many dead-ends, it would take over 11 years before I would meet my birth parents and 10 siblings! As you will read, it was the slightest event that brought us together. Should my story give another searcher the ambition to never lose faith in searching, even when much time passes with no answers, then my purpose for writing will be fulfilled.

Book Cover Photo: My picture of the Urambamba River Valley near Machu Picchu, Peru, a place I always knew I must visit.

Like a photo shoot, pictures flashed in Anthony’s head as he reflected on the first time he heard the horrifying clank of the barred door that was now staring at his back, he vividly recalled, his face smashed against the dusty police car, bright red and blue Lights blindly flashing in his eyes. Everything was a blur! His heart beating so fast and pounding so hard he could hardly hear the cop as he repeated his words... "Do you understand your rights!" A preacher's son on the way to a place deemed worse than hell! Just a teenaged boy when he was facing those bars, now a man 7 years later who has made a promise to himself to rectify his wrongs. Read this captivating story about a young man’s journey into manhood down a twisted road through tragedy and triumph.